Here in the Aegean, beetroot is as much of a staple in winter as cabbage. It packs a punch with nutrients and with a mild flavour lends itself to lots of dishes. It can substitute grated carrots raw in just about any recipe, it makes a good addition to soups and substitutes cucumber in tsatziki to make a beautiful pink dip (they call that "beetroot salad" in Greece). Apart from Borscht, this simple soup recipe is one of my favourite ways of using beetroot.

It is the last day of autumn and the Med has yet to throw any ferocious weather at us. At the moment we are sitting in a protected bay with just a solitary monastery ashore. Had a wonderful sail here. Bells greeted us joyously as we came in . Just goats and finches for company otherwise. It is unlikely we will see too many other boats for the next five months.

The addition of feta disqualifies Greek salad as a vegan dish, but I am posting a photo of the one I was served yesterday as it was an interesting regional variation. If you commited the sin of leaving off the cheese it would be vegan .

The usual tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, red onion, olives, feta and oregano came topped with a few tablespoons of pickled caper leaves and chillies:

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__________________"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea." Isak Dinesen"To me the simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space." Clifford Ashley

Soup season is here, aka winter . With lots of warm southerlies recently blowing straight from Egypt (just 300nm away) that heartwarming hit hasn't been quite as essential as usual, but a bowl generally makes its way onto the menu most nights at this time of year.

For any "non cook", soup would have to be the easiest and most fool proof thing to make. It does improve if you sauté any garlic cloves or onions first, but this is not essential so don't let this step phase you. Just throw a couple in with whatever chopped veg take your fancy to half fill a pot (let your imagination run wild or reach for whatever you have on hand), add stock, possibly a tin of tomatoes or some concentrate, herbs or spices, and for a decent hit of low fat protein include lentils or cooked chickpeas or beans (tinned will do), then cook until veg are soft. A pressure cooker works brilliantly for this. Just bring it to pressure, turn off the heat and let it sit an hour or so.

Using homemade stock makes a big difference only when the broth features as in French Onion or Chicken Noodle soup, otherwise stock cubes are fine. To retain the bright green colour of greens, add these at the end and simmer just long enough to cook. Season to taste when done. Hot sauce or coconut cream etc can really lift the final result. Like most stews and casseroles the flavours improve with standing.

For those of you who are not fans of veggies or pulses, pureed soup is the least painful way to get a good dose of goodness particularly if you disguise it with toppings such as shaved cheese, grilled bacon or prosciutto, buttery croutons, fresh herbs and nuts . I would say nothing warms you up faster or feels more comforting (food wise that is ) in winter than soup.

Tonight's treat was a very filling bean and mushroom combo. With garlic and rosemary studded warm focaccia it made a meal in itself:

NOT pretending to be something other than what it is, here's a worthy Thanksgiving entree/centerpiece, and it's even vegan:

THE VEGGIEDUCKEN!
Banana Squash and Yams with vege filling!

Oh, roasted squash with herb and yam stuffing sounds just lovely. My mouth is watering . I roasted most weekends at home (too time consuming mid week after work) and the flavours of vegetables is fabulous doing this. Adding sprigs of rosemary and unpeeled garlic cloves makes it smell heavenly while cooking.

On board I am really conscious of gas usage and running the oven for an hour to roast veggies is something I only indulge in in winter if gas is easy to replace. Not the case at the moment .

I have added your recipe to the index and Sailor G's too.

Thanks to both of you for new ideas.
SWL x

__________________"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea." Isak Dinesen"To me the simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space." Clifford Ashley

__________________- Never test how deep the water is with both feet -
10% of conflicts are due to different opinions. 90% by the tone of voice.
Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.